The idea of attending an American college or university in pursuit of an undergraduate degree is becoming more and more popular in the international community.
According to the Institute of International Education’s annual Open Doors report, the number of international students in the U.S. in the 2012-13 school year increased 7.2 percent to a record high of 819,644 students.
Yet Wake Forest remains relatively unknown on the international stage. We may boast over 400 international students in the undergraduate college, but for most, Wake Forest was not their first choice.
Photo courtesy of Center for Global Programs and Studies
“I found Wake Forest totally by mistake,” said William Wang, a first-year international student from China. He discovered it through a mistake made by the International Baccalaureate program at his high school.
“Wake Forest is not a well-known university in the world,” Wang said. “Hundreds of universities that are much lower in ranking, such as Pennsylvania State University or the University of Toronto, are more well-known to people around the globe.”
“Even though I knew about Wake in high school [in Charlotte, N.C.], it wasn’t a place I had considered before,” said WonKyung Jeong, a senior international student from South Korea.
“One of the biggest reasons was Wake’s reputation outside of America.”
According to Jeong, many international students think about returning to their home countries after graduation because of the relatively low possibility of obtaining a work visa.
Thus, both a college’s reputation and awareness are very important to them.
Some students even blindly apply.
“Some of [my friends] did not know anything about Wake Forest before applying, and realized Wake Forest was not a good fit for them after their first year,” said Jean Huang, a sophomore international student from China.
Ana Hincu, a first-year student from western Romania, applied to 24 different colleges.
“[International students] are not so well informed, especially in my country,” she said.
Then why do students eventually settle for a school when they know little to nothing about it?
“I was wait-listed by my first choice and I was debating among Illinois, Emory and Wake Forest,” said Jeong. “Since my [extended] family lived in Charlotte (until my sophomore year of college), I finally decided to attend Wake.”
According to a former administrator, international students’ decision to attend Wake Forest tends to be more academic than social.
For Huang, Wake Forest fit her criteria for a credible accounting program.
“I first heard about Wake when I searched through a college guide book for a small private college with a five-year accounting program,” she said.
Jenny Li, a recent May graduate of Wake Forest explained, “After that interview, I set my mind on Wake,”
“I told myself that this is the school that will help me succeed and become a well-rounded intellectual.”
And even when the mind of a prospective student is made up, Wake Forest is forced to compete with grumbling parents.
“When I decided that I wanted to attend Wake Forest, I had to persuade my parents because they wanted me to go to UC Berkeley instead,” said Huang. “They think UC Berkeley is more famous and well known and it will be better for my future.”